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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Supporting Senator Hutchison

Frankly, I don't understand those living outside of a state inserting themselves into a state election. Some of that is beginning here in Texas and it is just odd. These same people are from the far right of the party and were the most enamoured with Governor Perry as he went off the cliff with the embarrassing publicity he generated for our state concerning secession.

Perry had to spend many days explaining a remark he made at a Tea Party demonstration about the federal stimulus money. He made lots of bluster over turning down the stimulus money and it was just plain wrong. He was deceitful about the fact that the State of Texas received the majority of the stimulus money allotted. He was turning down the money which would have transformed future unemployment compensation distribution. The Texas State Controller, Susan Combs, has a transparent online tracking system of the stimulus money as it is received and distributed.

The very far right pundits who cheered on Perry for standing up in support of the 10th amendment are now feeling perfectly free to weigh in on another state's race for governor. The polls are not too favorable for Governor Perry - he is not very well liked, though he does have faithful of the base of the Republican party. If your sole issue is on the pro-life agenda, Perry is your man. He is quite good at stirring up the base with social issues.

Unfortunately for Perry, most Texans are more concerned about fiscal issues. While he has cut some taxes and Texas still leads the country on the employment numbers, he has done nothing to tighten the border. Illegal immigration is a huge dollar suck from our state coffers.

Perry has appointed all of the Texas A & M University board of directors and it is in chaos. He supported the head of the State Board of Education and he has now been replaced after embarrassing Texas as a self proclaimed creationist willing to short the science education of Texas school children to fit his personal beliefs. Texas' ranking nationally is nothing to write home about.

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison is running against Perry. Perry is running for an unprecedented third term as governor. Perry is a former Democrat who benefited from the 2000 election of George W. Bush as President. As Lt Governor, Perry rose to Governor at that time. He was re-elected with less than half of the vote. He wants a third term.

Senator Hutchison has a wide variety of experience at the state and national level. She was State Treasurer and led the fight against a proposed Texas state income tax. She put into place cost cutting measures and increased investments and returns of state monies to $1 billion for the first time in Texas state history.

She was the first Texas Republican woman elected to the State House of Representatives. She has been in the U.S. Senate - the first woman elected to the Senate from Texas - and has been a strong advocate for military families, transportation issues, property rights, and energy legislation. She is a strong supporter of NASA. Most importantly, she can work with both sides of the aisle.

Perhaps that is the problem for the far right. If an elected official is seen as someone who can work with others to produce legislation, then that person must be a sell-out. It is a very juvenile and myopic way of looking at the legislative process. These same people will be the ones yelling loudest as the current administration in Washington, with enough votes to exclude the minority party - the Republicans- pushes through legislation without Republican support.

A favorite criticism is that Hutchison is not a 'true conservative'. She isn't a 'real Republican'. Those holding silly purity tests so dear are the ones who will guarantee that Republicans will be in the wilderness for many years to come. Political parties are not private clubs. The idea is to include as many people as possible, to appeal to as many voters as possible.

The name of the game in politics is to win elections. There are distinct differences between the two parties. Unfortunately, some Republicans think they hold some kind of moral authority over others. This arrogance is a big obstacle to overcome as reasonable people work to bring the Republican party back on track.